Rachel Buffett, the former fiance of convicted killer Daniel Wozniak, who was convicted earlier this year of lying to police in a failed attempt to help her then-boyfriend get away with two murders, looks and listens along with her attorney David Medina, right, as Junko Kibuishi, the mother of murder victim Julie Kibuishi, speaks in Orange County Superior Court just prior to sentencing in Santa Ana on Thursday, November 8, 2018. Buffett was sentenced by Orange County Superior Court Judge Sheila Hanson to two years and eight months in jail for accessory after the fact. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)

The former fiance of convicted killer Daniel Wozniak was sentenced to 32 months in jail on Thursday, Nov. 8, after being found guilty of lying to police to cover up two murders he committed to steal money for the couple’s wedding. Rachel Buffett, 31, faced anywhere from probation to 44 months in jail for being an accessory after the fact.

Orange County Superior Court Judge Sheila Hanson denied probation and opted for jail time, saying that the defendant “never appreciated the gravity of the crime” she committed. On May 21, 2010, Wozniak fatally shot Samuel Herr at the Joint Forces Training Base in Los Alamitos. Later he went to Herr’s Costa Mesa apartment and lured Juri “Julie” Kibuishi to the apartment, pretending to be Herr in need of help. He shot and killed her, too, and staged the scene to make it look like Herr killed the woman.

In one interview, Buffett told investigators about a mystery friend of Herr’s who she falsely claimed had left her apartment with Wozniak and Herr the day of the murders. “You lied,” Hanson told Buffett. “You intentionally and willfully committed this crime.” She also said the lies took “some degree of planning.” Buffett sat stoic in her dark blue jail uniform for much of the hearing when the parents of Wozniak’s victims made statements shortly before the sentence was announced.

Standing with her husband Masa, left, Junko Kibuishi, the mother of murder victim Julie Kibuishi, speaks in Orange County Superior Court in Santa Ana on Thursday, November 8, 2018, just prior to the sentencing of Rachel Buffett, the former fiance of convicted killer Daniel Wozniak. Orange County Superior Court Judge Sheila Hanson sentenced Buffett to two years and eight months in jail for accessory after the fact. Buffett was convicted earlier this year of lying to police in a failed attempt to help her then-boyfriend get away with two murders. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Raquel Herr, left, the mother of murder victim Samuel Herr, embraces Junko Kibuishi, the mother of murder victim Julie Kibuishi, outside the courtroom after Orange County Superior Court Judge Sheila Hanson sentenced Rachel Buffett, the former fiance of convicted killer Daniel Wozniak, to two years and eight months in jail for accessory after the fact, in Santa Ana on Thursday, November 8, 2018. Buffett was convicted earlier this year of lying to police in a failed attempt to help her then-boyfriend get away with two murders. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)

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Rachel Buffett, the former fiance of convicted killer Daniel Wozniak, looks and listens as Junko Kibuishi, the mother of murder victim Julie Kibuishi, speaks in Orange County Superior Court just prior to sentencing in Santa Ana on Thursday, November 8, 2018. Orange County Superior Court Judge Sheila Hanson sentenced Buffett to two years and eight months in jail for accessory after the fact. Buffett was convicted earlier this year of lying to police in a failed attempt to help her then-boyfriend get away with two murders. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Rachel Buffett, the former fiance of convicted killer Daniel Wozniak, is handcuffed as she is seated in next to her attorney David Medina, right, in Orange County Superior Court for sentencing in Santa Ana on Thursday, November 8, 2018. Buffett was convicted earlier this year of lying to police in a failed attempt to help her then-boyfriend get away with two murders. Orange County Superior Court Judge Sheila Hanson sentenced Buffett to two years and eight months in jail for accessory after the fact. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Rachel Buffett, the former fiance of convicted killer Daniel Wozniak, sits with her attorney David Medina, right, in Orange County Superior Court just prior to sentencing in Santa Ana on Thursday, November 8, 2018. Buffett was convicted earlier this year of lying to police in a failed attempt to help her then-boyfriend get away with two murders. Buffett was sentenced by Orange County Superior Court Judge Sheila Hanson to two years and eight months in jail for accessory after the fact. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Orange County Superior Court Judge Sheila Hanson sentences Rachel Buffett, the former fiance of convicted killer Daniel Wozniak, to two years and eight months in jail for accessory after the fact, in Orange County Superior Court in Santa Ana on Thursday, November 8, 2018. Buffett was convicted earlier this year of lying to police in a failed attempt to help her then-boyfriend get away with two murders. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Orange County Senior Deputy District Attorney Matt Murphy speaks during a news conference as Steve and Raquel Herr, right, of Anaheim Hills, parents of murder victim Samuel Herr, listen after Orange County Superior Court Judge Sheila Hanson sentenced Rachel Buffett, the former fiance of convicted killer Daniel Wozniak, to two years and eight months in jail for accessory after the fact, in Santa Ana on Thursday, November 8, 2018. Buffett was convicted earlier this year of lying to police in a failed attempt to help her then-boyfriend get away with two murders. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Rachel Buffett, the former fiance of convicted killer Daniel Wozniak, who was convicted earlier this year of lying to police in a failed attempt to help her then-boyfriend get away with two murders, looks and listens along with her attorney David Medina, right, as Junko Kibuishi, the mother of murder victim Julie Kibuishi, speaks in Orange County Superior Court just prior to sentencing in Santa Ana on Thursday, November 8, 2018. Buffett was sentenced by Orange County Superior Court Judge Sheila Hanson to two years and eight months in jail for accessory after the fact. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Handcuffed, Rachel Buffett, the former fiance of convicted killer Daniel Wozniak, is lead out of Orange County Superior Court after being sentenced by Orange County Superior Court Judge Sheila Hanson to two years and eight months in jail for accessory after the fact on Thursday, November 8, 2018. Buffett was convicted earlier this year of lying to police in a failed attempt to help her then-boyfriend get away with two murders. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Handcuffed, Rachel Buffett, the former fiance of convicted killer Daniel Wozniak, is lead out of Orange County Superior Court after being sentenced by Orange County Superior Court Judge Sheila Hanson to two years and eight months in jail for accessory after the fact on Thursday, November 8, 2018. Buffett was convicted earlier this year of lying to police in a failed attempt to help her then-boyfriend get away with two murders. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Buffett was a community theater actress and former Disneyland princess who grew up in Seal Beach and Long Beach. She previously appeared on national television shows such as “Dr. Phil” and “Dateline NBC” to proclaim that she didn’t have anything to do with the murders.

“Rachel Buffett lied to the police, lied to her friends … lied to the nation,” Herr’s father, Steve Herr, said during his statement in court referring to her high profile television appearances.

He maintained she never admitted to lying and that she has never shown remorse.

“(She) deserves the harshest punishment possible,” he said.

Wozniak, who was sentenced to death in 2016, carried out the 2010 scheme to steal money from Herr and pay for his wedding to Buffett and help their financial troubles.

“Isn’t a wedding supposed to be about happiness,” Kibuishi’s mother Junko Kibuishi said in tears addressing Buffett. “Your big day was going to be rooted in murder.”

Herr, 26, and Kibuishi, 23, became friends while they attended Orange Coast College. She loved dance, music and fashion, while Herr was an Afghanistan war veteran working to get his degree and re-enlist as an officer.

During the trial, Senior Deputy District Attorney Matt Murphy told jurors that Buffett intentionally lied to police during two separate police interviews — one before Wozniak’s arrest and one after.

Buffett’s lawyer David Medina argued that she didn’t know what Wozniak had done when she talked to police.

As Hanson handed down the sentence, Buffett’s family sat quietly together in the seats behind the defendant’s chair. She looked back at them briefly with a worried expression.

The question of remorse was brought up multiple times during the sentencing. When it came time, Buffett chose to make a statement.

“I hope my silence has not been misinterpreted as callous,” she said. “I wish I could have saved them. … I wish I’d never met Daniel Wozniak.”

“My heart goes out to the Herr and Kibuishi families. They will always be in my thoughts and prayers.”

Outside the courtroom, the victims’ parents said they wished she’d been given the maximum sentence, but were relieved the years-long ordeal was over. The case against Wozniak had been delayed for years after it got swept up in the Orange County informant scandal.

When asked what they thought of Buffett’s statement, Kibuishi’s mother said: “I felt like she lied to the end.”

Alma Fausto is a crime, breaking news and public safety reporter for the Register. She has worked for the Register since 2013. Previously, she lived in New York City while studying at the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism where she covered the growing Mexican immigrant population in the city. Alma has also lived and studied in California’s rural and agricultural Central Valley. She’s an Orange County native from Costa Mesa, and in her spare time likes to read, visit libraries and drink good gin.